D-Day 'Great Escaper' Bernard Jordan makes his final journey as he's laid to rest with his wife

Mourners, including war veterans and RNLI members, pack a church in Brighton
to bid farewell to the 90-year-old and his wife Irene, 88

The coffins of Bernard Jordan (front), a war veteran who left his care home to attend last year's 70th anniversary D-Day events in France and his wife Irene, are carried from All Angels Church in Brighton, East Sussex, after their joint funeral, following their deaths seven days apart after more than 50 years of marriage. Photo: PA

Around 150 mourners gathered as Mr Jordan's coffin, draped in the Union flag and topped with his medals and a wreath of poppies, arrived at church in front of his wife's.

Assistant curate Father Mark Lyon, who led the service, said: "It's a great privilege to give thanks for the lives of Bernie and Rene.

"Although Bernie made the headlines, it's a testament to the depth of her that Rene would not allow him to make this final journey alone.

"In this we can take comfort, knowing that they make their journey into eternity together, hand in hand."

Bernard Jordan and his wife Irene on their wedding day

Mr and Mrs Jordan, who did not have children, had been married for 59 years and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 2005.

As a former mayor of Hove, the service was told Mr Jordan had been a long-serving community stalwart before his trip to last year's D-Day commemorations.

Paying tribute, Mr Fitch said Mr Jordan "had a flare for being outrageous" and that Brighton and Hove had "lost two of its dearest souls".

He said: "Bernie, in what were to be the last few months of his life, became a national and international figure due to his trip to France and his desire to participate in the Normandy Landings commemorations.

"What really captured the public's imagination was not his own scheduled flit from the Pines (care home) but the character of the man - a person determined to honour and value his comrades despite his increasing age and less than perfect health."

Mr Fitch also paid tribute to Mrs Jordan as "demure and quiet", adding that "she was the perfect foil for her gregarious and big-hearted husband".

Dennis Smith, the husband of one of the couple's nieces, told the service that the Jordans were "different characters" who complemented each other.

Mr Smith said Mrs Jordan took a great interest in the Royal Family, particularly the younger generation.

And she acted as an "assertive" figure, often keeping her husband grounded during his "flights of fancy".

He added that her death, just days after her husband, came as she "saw little prospect of a life without him".

After the Last Post sounded, Royal British Legion standard bearers lowered their flags before mourners filed out of the church ahead of a private committal.

Mr Jordan's disappearance to Normandy last June 5 sparked a police search that led to him being catapulted to international attention.

His whereabouts emerged only when a younger veteran phoned later that night to say he had met Mr Jordan and he was safe.

Royal Navy veteran Mr Jordan told reporters on his return that his aim was to remember his fallen "mates".

Bernard Jordan

He had decided to join British veterans, most making their final pilgrimage to revisit the scene of their momentous invasion, to remember the heroes of the liberation of Europe.

Some 156,000 Allied troops landed on the five invasion beaches on June 6 1944, sparking an 80-day campaign to liberate Normandy involving three million troops and costing 250,000 lives.

Mr Jordan was later made an honorary alderman of Brighton and Hove in a special ceremony at Brighton Town Hall.

He joined an elite list to receive the honour, including Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, former Olympic champion Steve Ovett, and First World War hero Henry Allingham, who became the world's oldest man before his death aged 113 in 2009.